We’ve been having some problems with our website, so the Booth story that ran in today’s paper was removed from online by accident. If you’ve been looking for it and haven’t found it, here it is:

By Steve Gorten
Staff Writer

Ottawa – Panthers winger David Booth suffered his second concussion in five months Thursday as a result of the hard hit from Canadiens’ defenseman Jaroslav Spacek.

Now with his season almost certainly over, Booth and the Panthers face uncertainty about his future in the NHL.

“We’re all concerned about him and the long-term ramifications of it,” Coach Pete DeBoer said. “He’s concerned. It’s not a good time right now.”

Booth, who was rushed to a Montreal hospital after Spacek hit him cleanly in the jaw early in the second period of Thursday’s 4-1 loss, was released in the wee hours Friday after passing a series of tests. He spent the night with the team at its hotel.

While the rest of the Panthers bussed to Ottawa Friday morning for Saturday’s game against the Senators, Booth flew back to South Florida for further evaluation.

Although team doctors won’t officially decide his status until early next week, DeBoer noted “it’s a strong probability” Booth won’t be back with just nine games left.

“I’m very concerned about it,” he said. “And obviously, sitting where we are in the standings [seven points from a playoff spot], you have to weigh whether the risk of that makes sense.”
DeBoer, who went to the hospital after the game to check on Booth, described him as “scared,” and added, “I think we all were.”

“Again, it’s the unknown of these types of injuries and what the consequences are going to be long term.”

Booth suffered his first ever concussion Oct. 24 in Philadelphia. It took him three months to return, in part because of a setback — Booth admitted he tried to rush his rehab. Thursday marked his 19th game back.

“You could see the way we responded after that [hit Thursday], the team was deflated,” center Stephen Weiss said. “You never want to see a guy get hurt like that, and knowing what happened already this year, it was pretty ugly. At least now he has the summer to rest and hopefully get better.”

In the case of both concussions, Booth had his head down when he was hit.

“It’s not as easy as just saying, ‘Hey, keep your head up on the ice,’” DeBoer said. “The way David plays, he’s aggressive. He goes after the puck. The play [Thursday] night, he’s making an extra effort, reaching for it. When he lifts his head up, there’s a guy there. It’s not something you can talk to a guy about and he can fix. That’s how he plays and unfortunately, he’s had bad luck and a couple of concussions because of it.”

MacInytre recalled

Steve MacIntyre was recalled from AHL Rochester to replace Booth in the lineup for Saturday’s game. MacIntyre has played 10 games for the Panthers this season. His last appearance was Jan. 16. DeBoer said he would ponder and formulate the line combinations Friday night.

Prospects in action

General Manager Randy Sexton was in Albany, N.Y. on Friday night to watch Panthers draft picks Drew Shore, John Lee and Marc Cheverie from University of Denver and Brian Foster from University of New Hampshire play in an NCAA regional. Director of player personnel Jack Birch’s son, Braden, was also there playing for Cornell.

HARVEY FIALKOV, a tennis-playing sportswriter who grew up in Long Island following the dynastic Islanders, is the new Panthers beat writer for the Sun Sentinel and looking forward to writing about the best professional sports team in Broward County.